Farm families invited to participate in new ‘Tastes Like Home’ series

Farm families made a strong contribution to series two of Catherine Fulvio’s RTE One television series ‘Tastes Like Home’ – and those who didn’t get in on the action now have the chance to take part in the third series.

If you want to be the next TV foodie star and have a loved one living abroad then the producers want to hear from you.

Catherine Fulvio and sponsor, Londis, have issued a call-out for applicants who wish to star in the show, which will air later this year.

In the series, the celebrity chef visits families who show her how to make their favourite ‘Tastes Like Home’ dishes. She then jets off to locations around the globe to recreate the dishes with their loved ones.

The second series featured Mary McGowan, her husband Thomas, and son, Ronan, on their sheep farm in Clonshanna, Rooskey, Co. Roscommon. We also met Mary and Thomas’s only daughter, Lisa, and her partner, Ian McCarthy – originally from Kinsale – in Vancouver, Canada.

Also featured were the Power sisters, Ethel and Oonagh. Catherine headed to Ballinacluna Farm, Carrick-on-Suir, where Ethel showed her how to prepare a beef stew from her childhood which was made by her aunt, Bernadette.

Organic beef from Ethel and husband Tom Walsh’s farm was used in the making of the stew.

Then Catherine went to Thousand Oaks in LA to meet with Ethel’s sister, Oonagh Gaynor.

“Tastes like Home was a very wholesome experience from start to finish, creating a wonderful family archive for my sister Oonagh and I,” said Ethel.

Thousands of miles apart

Peter and Grainne Hill who own and breed horses in this country and South Korea also took part in the series.

“‘Tastes Like Home’ was a wonderful opportunity to finally share our lives in a more interactive way with friends and family,” said the Hills.

“For so many years now we have only been able to relate our experiences of living and working thousands of miles apart in the simplest terms, feeling that few people could really understand us.

From being a part of the programme we both were so happy to finally be able to show just what our lives are like.

Catherine highlighted the significance of home food for people abroad.

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She said: “Food is part of our culture and our heritage, and it is evident from this TV series that when we move abroad it is one of the first things we miss about home.

“It has been a pleasure for me to bring the distinctive flavours of Ireland to all four corners of the globe.”

So far locations have included: South Korea, London, Canada and South Africa.

Dishes have ranged from a seafood platter of smoked scallops and lobster to a traditional fish pie with a twist and nettle and leek soup.

“We all have a dish that awakens the very best of memories, and we want you to share yours with the nation,” said Catherine.

I will visit your loved one wherever they live – be it Hong Kong, Iceland, Poland, Wellington or Brisbane – and help them recreate the dish that tastes like home.

As well as Irish families with loved ones abroad, the producers are also looking to feature people or families who have settled here and now call Ireland home. In these stories, Catherine will meet those selected and then travel to visit their family and friends in their homeland.

Successful applicants will host Catherine in their home and teach her how to whip up their gastronomical delight. She will then drop in on their loved one abroad, taking viewers on a whistle-stop tour of their home-away-from-home, before helping to recreate the dish for them.

Applications

Applications are open until April 29 and those interested should be available for filming in May/June. There isn’t a required standard of cooking skills, just a passion for home cooking, according to the producers.

To apply, simply submit an application form along with three family favourite recipes for consideration. RTE One, with the help of Londis, will recruit six successful participants from across the country.